A proven program for enhancing students' thinking and comprehension abilities Visible Thinking is a research-based approach to teaching thinking, begun at Harvard's Project Zero, that develops students' thinking dispositions, while at the same time deepening their understanding of the topics they study. Rather than a set of fixed lessons, Visible Thinking is a varied collection of practices, including thinking routines?small sets of questions or a short sequence of steps?as well as the documentation of student thinking. Using this process thinking becomes visible as the students' different viewpoints are expressed, documented, discussed and reflected upon. Helps direct student thinking and structure classroom discussion Can be applied with students at all grade levels and in all content areas Includes easy-to-implement classroom strategies The book also comes with a DVD of video clips featuring Visible Thinking in practice in different classrooms.

"Visible Thinking is a research-based approach to teaching thinking that develops students' thinking dispositions, while at the same time deepening their understanding of the topics they study. Rather than a set of fixed lessons, Visible Thinking is an extensive and adaptable collection of practices that include thinking routines and the documentation of student thinking. The routines are a central element of the practical, functional and accessible nature of Visible Thinking. Thinking routines are easy to use mini-strategies that are repeatedly used in the classroom. They are a small set of questions or a short sequence of steps that can be used across various grade levels and content. Each routine targets a different type of thinking and by bringing their own content, teachers can integrate the routines into the fabric of their classrooms. Thinking Routines help direct student thinking and structure classroom discussion. Thinking becomes visible as the students' different viewpoints are expressed, documented, discussed and reflected upon"--

Discover why and how schools must become places where thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted As educators, parents, and citizens, we must settle for nothing less than environments that bring out the best in people, take learning to the next level, allow for great discoveries, and propel both the individual and the group forward into a lifetime of learning. This is something all teachers want and all students deserve. In Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools, Ron Ritchhart, author of Making Thinking Visible, explains how creating a culture of thinking is more important to learning than any particular curriculum and he outlines how any school or teacher can accomplish this by leveraging 8 cultural forces: expectations, language, time, modeling, opportunities, routines, interactions, and environment. With the techniques and rich classroom vignettes throughout this book, Ritchhart shows that creating a culture of thinking is not about just adhering to a particular set of practices or a general expectation that people should be involved in thinking. A culture of thinking produces the feelings, energy, and even joy that can propel learning forward and motivate us to do what at times can be hard and challenging mental work.

What does it really mean to be intelligent? Ron Ritchhart presents a new and powerful view of intelligence that moves beyond ability to focus on cognitive dispositions such as curiosity, skepticism, and open mindedness. Arguing persuasively for this new conception of intelligence, the author uses vivid classroom vignettes to explore the foundations of intellectual character and describe how teachers can enculturate productive patterns of thinking in their students. "Intellectual Character" presents illustrative, inspiring stories of exemplary teachers to help show how intellectual traits and thinking dispositions can be developed and cultivated in students to promote successful learning. This vital book provides a model of authentic and powerful teaching and offers practical strategies for creating classroom environments that support thinking.

A progressive, research-based approach for making learning visible Based on the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, Visible Learners highlights learning through interpreting objects and artifacts, group learning, and documentation to make students' learning evident to teachers. Visible classrooms are committed to five key principles: that learning is purposeful, social, emotional, empowering, and representational. The book includes visual essays, key practices, classroom and examples. Show how to make learning happen in relation to others, spark emotional connections, give students power over their learning, and express ideas in multiple ways Illustrate Reggio-inspired principles and approaches via quotes, photos, student and teacher reflections, and examples of student work Offer a new way to enhance learning using progressive, research-based practices for increasing collaboration and critical thinking in and outside the classroom Visible Learners asks that teachers look beyond surface-level to understand who students are, what they come to know, and how they come to know it.

The authors provide instructional strategies for maximizing students' mathematics comprehension through interactive visual thinking. Included are grade-specific sample problems and concrete examples of each strategy.

In exploring the process of teaching for understanding as teachers practice it, this monograph succeeds, as few do, in providing different ways of entering a teachers world. Building on teachers' 'inside knowledge,' the authors engage, provoke and coach-in just the right ways-so that I, as a teacher, excited by these new ideas, want the semester to begin tomorrow!?Ann Lieberman, Teachers College, Columbia UniversityThis practical, step-by-step guide to the process of Teaching for Understanding. walks teachers through the four critical steps of this highly successful process. Classroom examples, tips, and worksheets help clarify the process. It shows how to choose topics that engage students? interest and connect readily to other subjects, set coherent unit and course goals, create activities that both develop and demonstrate students? understanding, and improve student performance by providing continual feedback.The how-to companion to Teaching for Understanding: A Framework, edited by Martha Stone Wiske.Contents1. What This Guide Is (and Isn't)2. Understanding Understanding3. The Teaching for Understanding Framework4. Generative Topics5. Understanding Goals6. Performances of Understanding7. Ongoing Assessment8. Tips and Tools for Planning and Teaching9. Teaching for Understanding and Other Educational PracticesTina Blythe is a project coordinator for Project Zero at Harvard University?s Graduate School of Education.

Designed for writing teachers and researchers in composition, this book describes and analyzes the "Making Thinking Visible" project, which was conducted through the Center for the Study of Writing at Carnegie Mellon University.

What are "essential questions," and how do they differ from other kinds of questions? What's so great about them? Why should you design and use essential questions in your classroom? Essential questions (EQs) help target standards as you organize curriculum content into coherent units that yield focused and thoughtful learning. In the classroom, EQs are used to stimulate students' discussions and promote a deeper understanding of the content. Whether you are an Understanding by Design (UbD) devotee or are searching for ways to address standards--local or Common Core State Standards--in an engaging way, Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins provide practical guidance on how to design, initiate, and embed inquiry-based teaching and learning in your classroom. Offering dozens of examples, the authors explore the usefulness of EQs in all K-12 content areas, including skill-based areas such as math, PE, language instruction, and arts education. As an important element of their backward design approach to designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment, the authors *Give a comprehensive explanation of why EQs are so important; *Explore seven defining characteristics of EQs; *Distinguish between topical and overarching questions and their uses; *Outline the rationale for using EQs as the focal point in creating units of study; and *Show how to create effective EQs, working from sources including standards, desired understandings, and student misconceptions. Using essential questions can be challenging--for both teachers and students--and this book provides guidance through practical and proven processes, as well as suggested "response strategies" to encourage student engagement. Finally, you will learn how to create a culture of inquiry so that all members of the educational community--students, teachers, and administrators--benefit from the increased rigor and deepened understanding that emerge when essential questions become a guiding force for learners of all ages.

This book presents an innovative approach to teaching that helps students acquire and use knowledge in ways that go beyond rote memorization of facts and figures--to develop a level of understanding that will serve them well throughout their lives. Based on a six-year collaborative research project of school teachers and researchers from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the book describes what teaching for understanding looks like in the classroom, and examines how teachers have learned to use it. Part One: Foundations of Teaching for Understanding 1. Why Do We Need a Pedagogy of Understanding? Vito Perrone 2. What is Understanding? David Perkins Part Two: Teaching for Understanding in the Classroom 3. What is Teaching for Understanding? Martha Stone Wiske 4. How Do Teachers Learn to Teach for Understanding? Martha Stone Wiske, Karen Hammerness, Daniel Gray Wilson 5. How Does Teaching for Understanding Look in Practice? Ron Ritchart, Martha Stone Wiske, Eric Buchovecky, Lois Hetland Part Three: Students' Understanding in the Classroom 6. What Are the Qualities of Understanding? Veronica Boix Mansilla, Howard Gardner 7. How Do Students Demonstrate Understanding? Lois Hetland, Karen Hammerness, Chris Unger, Daniel Gray Wilson 8. What Do Students in Teaching for Understanding Classrooms Understand? Karen Hammerness, Rosario Jaramillo, Chris Unger, Daniel Gray Wilson 9. What Do Students Think About Understanding? Chris Unger and Daniel Gray Wilson with Rosario Jaramillo and Roger Dempsey Part Four: Promoting Teaching for Understanding 10. How Can We Prepare New Teachers? Vito Perrone 11. How Can Teaching for Understanding Be ExtAnded in Schools? Martha Stone Wiske, Lois Hetland, Eric Buchovecky Conclusion: Melding Progressive and Traditional Perspectives Howard Gardner Martha Stone Wiske is a lecturer and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she co-directs the Educational Techono

This indispensable guide combines proven curriculum design with teaching methods that encourage students to learn concepts as well as content and skills for deep understanding across all subject areas.

Asking the right questions is the answer This groundbreaking book provides teachers with an accessible, research-based blueprint for developing student metacognitive skills and ensuring that students take responsibility for their own learning. The authors use the findings of cognitive scientists to highlight quality questioning behaviors and explain how to apply them for improved student outcomes. Key features include: Short vignettes of quality questioning in action Evidence that ties question strategy to student achievement An overview of collaborative, written, electronic, and group response strategies Examples of how quality questioning connects to formative assessment

Are you looking for high-impact, research-based strategies to transform your students into high-achieving and inspired learners? In The Strategic Teacher, you'll find a repertoire of strategies designed and proven to meet today's high standards and reach diverse learners. Twenty reliable, flexible strategies (along with dozens of variations) are organized into these groups of instruction: *mastery style to emphasize the development of student memory; *understanding style to expand students' capacities to reason and explain; *self-expressive style to stimulate and nourish students' imaginations and creativity; *interpersonal style to help students find meaning in the relationships they forge as partners and team members, united in the act of learning; and *four-style strategies that integrate all four styles. To guide teachers in delivering content to students, the authors started with the best research-based teaching and learning strategies and created a tool called the Strategic Dashboard. The dashboard provides information about each teaching strategy in a concise, visual profile; it is also designed to document how you incorporate current, highly respected research into your instructional plans. For each strategy, you'll find the following information: *a brief introduction to the strategy; *an example of a teacher using the strategy in the classroom; *the research base supporting the strategy and how the strategy benefits students; *how to implement the strategy using a list of clear steps; *guidance through the planning process, providing steps, examples, and suggestions for designing superior lessons; and *additional tools, strategies, and resources for adapting and expanding the use of each strategy. The authors have combined their years of research and practice to deliver reliable, high-impact, flexible teaching and learning strategies grounded in current, highly regarded research to teachers at all levels of experience.
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